How a Pop-Up Book Works

I enjoyed this portrait of pop-up book artist Matthew Reinhart because, well, pop-up books are awesome and will never stop being amazing no matter how old I am, or how far technology advances. But also because he explains the technical aspects that go into making a pop-up book, like the v-folds he uses to make something lunge out, the layers he builds to establish structure, and the different hinges he puts in to make objects move around.

The v-fold is the most important part in a pop-up book because it’s the mechanism that makes something actually pop up. It makes the thing move in an arc, so the wider you open the book, the more the page unfolds. You can build v-folds on top of v-folds to make the movements more complex, which will make the pop-up effect even more pronounced. It can get pretty wild.

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Author: bbaker

Brett Baker has over 20 years experience in film, television and video game production. His television work includes special effects animation for " VanPires" (1997) animated series and post production for "Teletubbies" (2001). His video game work includes titles such as William Shatner's "Tekwar" and" ChronoMaster" featuring the voices of Ron Perlman and Lolita Davidovich. His animation studio Exodus Entertainment, was responsible for the animation that resulted in Mattel® being award the master toy license for the Harry Potter® franchise in 2002. He received his M.F.A. in filmmaking in 2004 before going on to work on feature film projects such as "Gringo Wedding" in 2006 and "Get Smart" in 2008. He currently owns and is an animator and designer with his own agency, Axxis 3.
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